Zlatan Ibrahimovic launches campaign to fight hunger

PARIS – Football player Zlatan Ibrahimović, striker for Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) football club and captain of the Swedish national team, announced Sunday he was playing with the names of hungry people tattooed on his body in a campaign for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Ibrahimović said Saturday that he played the League 1 game with the individual names of some 50 of the 80 million hungry people who WFP assists globally tattooed onto his skin.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic launches campaign to fight hunger

Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal after taking off his shirt during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal after taking off his shirt during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Referee Franck Schneider, right, speaks with Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he took his shirt off to celebrate his goal during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks on during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St. Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic reacts at the end of the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. The match ended in a draw 2-2. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Paris St. Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Referee Franck Schneider, left, looks Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he took his shirt off to celebrate his goal during the French league one soccer match between PSG and Caen, in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 15 : Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG (R) attends a press conference of a programme called '805 Million Name' aiming to help people suffering from hunger all around the world in Paris, France on February 15, 2015. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 15 : Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG attends a press conference of a programme called '805 Million Name' aiming to help people suffering from hunger all around the world in Paris, France on February 15, 2015. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 14: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG celebrates his goal during the French Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and Stade Malherbe Caen at Parc des Princes stadium on February 14, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

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"Wherever I go people recognize me, call my name, cheer for me," said Ibrahimović. "But there are names no one cares to remember. That no one cheers for: the 805 million people suffering from hunger in the world today.

"I have supporters all over the world. From now on I want this support to go to the people who suffer from hunger, they are the real champions. So whenever you hear my name, you will think of their names," he said in a news conference at PSG headquarters in Paris.

The campaign is built around the 50 names symbolically representative of the 80 million people currently assisted by WFP in crises in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Central African Republic, the Ebola-affected countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as in Bolivia, Cambodia, and Democratic Republic of Congo where WFP helps to build resilience.

Ibrahimović played in Saturday's match with the names of people such as Carmen, Mariko, Antoine, Sawsan, Chheuy, Lida, Siatta, Rahma, Yaae who receive food assistance tattooed temporarily on his body to highlight hunger and what WFP is doing about it.

"Each one of the 805 million people suffering from hunger in the world has a name, a voice, a story to share," said Marina Catena, WFP Director for France and the Principality of Monaco. "Zlatan accepted the challenge and wished to carry their stories on his own skin so that the world does not forget them."